Burned - Pregones/PRTT

December 2-18, 2025
Pregones Theater
575 Walton Avenue,
The Bronx, NY 10451

An Interactive Play for Community Health!

BURNED is part of Pregones/PRTT’s Abrazo/Embrace initiative for Bronx community wellness and mental health.

Burned tells the story of Linda, a Bronx native and former hospital worker during the pandemic. After quitting her job and losing her apartment, she moves in with her sister, Chelsea. Emotionally drained and struggling to stay afloat, Linda fails to find the support she needs from Chelsea or Chelsea’s boyfriend, Joe. In classic forum theater style, audience members get to choose and model an ending for this affecting short play at each performance.

Burned is a rehearsal for action! Developed through creative dialogue and workshops with Bronx residents, all participants are invited into a safe space where they may think critically about the lasting impacts of COVID-19 and other mental health stressors, practice listening and empathy, and rehearse actions for heightened personal and community care.

Performances are followed by facilitated conversations with qualified mental health counselors and service providers.

One Play With Twin Goals

Under the creative leadership of Pregones/PRTT Associate Artistic Director Jorge B. Merced, and in collaboration with project playwright Alejandra Ramos Riera, the twin goals of Burned are: (a) to raise awareness on current mental health needs and overall community wellness across The Bronx, and (b) to empower participants to seek and access existing mental health services. The project builds on significant prior experience producing and performing issue-based theater in Spanish and English, using internationally vetted methodologies for arts-based education, awareness raising, and action for positive change. Burned and other ongoing activities of Pregones/PRTT’s Abrazo/Embrace initiative are generously underwritten by the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund and its expansive Arts in Health program.

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Seating is Limited to Allow Audiences to Enjoy the Play’s Interactive Elements

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Event Details

Location & Directions

Pregones Theater
575 Walton Ave, Bronx, NY 10451
(b/w 149 & 150 Streets)
Subway #2, 4, 5 to
149 Street & Grand Concourse
Just one block from the station!

Questions? Call us at 718-585-1202

Run Dates

December 2-18, 2025

Acting Ensemble

To Be Announced

Creative Team

Written by:

Alejandra Ramos Riera

Directed by:
Jorge B. Merced

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Actors’ Equity Association

The actors and stage managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. This Theater operates under an Actors’ Equity Association Off-Broadway NYC-LOA.

Artists Bios

Artist Bios

ALEJANDRA RAMOS RIERA (Writer) is a Puerto Rican playwright, actress, director, and educator based in NYC. Winner of the 2020 Miranda Family Voces Latinx Playwrighting Competition with her play Malas mañas and a 2021 Emmy Nominee in the category of Voice Over Actress for Animated Short Film for La Cucarachita Martina’s Musical Adventures. She holds a B.A in Dance and Theater, from University of Puerto Rico, and an M.A. in Scenic Arts from the University of Murcia, Spain. Co-founder and Artistic Director of Teatro la azotea, Inc. Published works include short play anthology En la azotea, 10 piezas cortas de teatro (Puerto Rico: Callejón 2016), and the play En Blanco as part of Puerto Rico Off: Teatro y Performance Fronterizos (Miami: Hypermedia, 2020). Selected credits: Playwriting Instructor at University of Puerto Rico (2017); director of AEA theater showcase Agua, Vida y Tierra (MITU 360, BK,
NY); Step-Up Artist in Residence at Pregones/PRTT for development and workshop production of original play Broken Words (2018); role of Patricia in feature film Angelfish (2019); playwright and co-director of A Taste of Loving Sea (FuerzaFest 2019); featured playwright and performer for series “En Construcción, New Works Latin American Writers,” produced by Poets & Writers, Inc. (The Astoria Bookshop 2019).

JORGE B. MERCED (Director) is an acclaimed actor, director, dramaturg, songwriter, and arts educator. As Associate Artistic Director of Pregones/PRTT he plays a key role in the development of the company’s acting and music ensemble, creative methodology, and original repertory, and also leads its lifelong arts learning programs. He studied piano and composition at Escuela Libre de Música in Puerto Rico, theatre at City College-CUNY and EITALC/International Theater School in Cuba, dance/choreography at Alvin Ailey School, and forum theater technique with Augusto Boal. Distinctions include the Dewar’s Young Artist Award, BRIO Award of The Bronx Council on the Arts, and multiple recognitions for his groundbreaking LGBTQ-themed Asunción Playwrights Project and juried play competition. He served a five-year term on The Lucille Lortel Awards Nominating Committee. Recent and notable credits include Pregones/ PRTT’s Aloha Boricua, Quarter Rican, Burned, and Evolution of a Sonero.

Our Esteemed Funders

The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund’s Arts in Health initiative supports organizations that use the arts to address health issues, with a particular focus on mental health stigma, trauma, and age-related diseases.

Pregones/PRTT’s Mainstage is also generously funded by Ford Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Shubert Foundation, and Scherman Foundation. This program is also made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the Governor’s Office and the New York State Legislature. For a full list of our funders, click here.